Questioning Assumptions: A Story from Alternate ROOTS

Our newest animated video explains how Alternate ROOTS went about re-assessing some of their long-held beliefs about membership.

Last fall, Alternate ROOTSentered the Innovation Lab process to learn about new approaches for addressing their complex challenge. For nearly 40 years, ROOTS has been fine-tuning its membership policies, but rapid growth over the last five years has caused some tension around membership and governance structures. One of the issues ROOTS wanted to address during the Lab process was how to create a membership structure that was relevant, fair, and meaningful to members. To help capture their thinking though this dynamic process, we worked with ROOTS member and artist Ariston Jacks to create a visual representation of how they approached this issue.

Watch this short video, featuring audio from Carlton Turner and Dudley Cocke at Alternate ROOTS, to learn about their process:

Questioning Your Own Assumptions

How does your organization re-evaluate its long-held beliefs? Check out this video and worksheet to start thinking about an approach.

About Alternate ROOTS

Alternate ROOTS is a regional arts-service organization based in the Southern USA whose mission is to support the creation and presentation of original art which is rooted in a particular community of place, tradition or spirit. As a member-driven resource for artists and coalition of cultural organizers, ROOTS strives for the elimination of all forms of oppression, and champions economic and social justice through its programs and services.

About Ariston Jacks

Ariston Jacks is a painter, printmaker, and photographer based in Arkansas. He is a member of Alternate ROOTS and served on their Innovation Lab team. He is also the Coordinator of Creative Expressions at Arkansas State Hospital.

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EmcArts Inc. is a social enterprise for learning and innovation in the arts. We serve as a nonprofit intermediary for many arts funders, and as a service organization for the arts field around innovation. We exist to strengthen the capacities and effectiveness of nonprofit arts and cultural organizations, serving their needs in the design and management of innovative change, and assisting them in building their adaptive capacity. Find out more.